I research, write about innovation, privacy and reputation via my books and articles, and work on it with clients as president of Arcadia, a communications research, design & delivery lab focused on today's most important, cutting-edge issues. I have 30+ years of professional experience working at big ad/PR agencies and at major brands, and I'm a Senior Fellow Emeritus at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Microsoft Could Change The World With Windows 8

Microsoft reported earlier this week that it had sold 60 million Windows 8 licenses since its newest operating system went on sale on October 26 last year. That’s a boatload of units, though it roughly kept pace with number of PCs shipped during the fourth quarter (just under 90 million). So the idea that its sales kinda fell off the back of a truck isn’t that far off. Industry analysts weren’t overjoyed with holiday sales, with IDC suggesting Microsoft heavily advertised the touch capabilities of its OS while the machines on store shelves didn’t always offer it.

Really? Consumers turned out in droves for that cool new Windows touch functionality?

I predicted that nobody would care about Microsoft’s new OS products because the company would produce brilliantly generic marketing. They’ve lived down to my expectations, doing their best to tell us that Windows 8 devices work like iPads. The TV spots have been endearing little snippets of digital lifestyles that could have been sponsored by any tech brand. Even a budget north of $1 billion hasn’t changed the fact that they have expertly told us nothing compelling about what they’re selling.

I hate the fact that I was mostly right, wishful arguments of “it takes time” and the stark fact of 60 million unit sales aside…because Microsoft deserves so much more. Yup. I said it: not just more, but better.

Windows 8 is a revelation, at least to those of us who haven’t been initiated into the ranks of all-knowing Digerati (i.e. consumers). It is a total rethinking of device interface that seems on par with the way Apple gave us icons and apps instead of a Start Menu…or maybe the very GUI on which all Macs and PCs are based. It changes the way we envision our gizmos, seeing them less as collections in our hands of things that run on our command, and more as live connectors to communities/content around us.

It’s a big deal, only you wouldn’t know it from the company’s marketing. So here are three ways Microsoft could change its marketing, and perhaps change the world:

Stress differences, not similarities. The idea behind Windows 8 is that it’s a next generation operating system that gets out of the way between people and what they want to do (or something like that). Talk about it in big, bold terms, focusing on what it does differently and demonstrating how that’s better, not just more fun. It’s a new way of interacting with devices that, once experienced, changes your approach forever after; it’s the design bar for others, including Apple, to strive toward. In other words, talk like an industry leader, not a committee.

I would shelve all the feel-good ads and come out with really blunt, Big Picture spots about the NextGen OS (or the Last OS?). Call it “invisible” or something — maybe the punchline is that Microsoft has blown up the OS on which it was built — and give us tangible things it does (and other operating systems don’t). I’d scrap all the pretty imagery on the company’s home page and replace it with a fully-functioning Windows 8 simulator so people could see and play with how their PCs would be different. And touch? Zzzzz. Nice to have, but it’s a cost-of-entry function at this point.

Enable new device engagement. If the tiles interface is as cool as I think it is, Microsoft should offer unique services (or access to them in unique ways) that accentuate the benefits of the interface. Offering just another way to click through to Facebook isn’t such a big deal; what does Windows 8 do differently? Why aren’t there proprietary tiles that aggregate functions and/or create new tools (and if there are, why the hell doesn’t anybody know about them)? Spend marketing dollars on this stuff instead of pretty ads.

Here are a few thought-starters: Instead of giving kids access to the cloud, which is kinda like inviting them to walk the streets of a major city unaccompanied by an adult, create a protected kid cloud for the exclusive use of Windows 8 families. Host a massive developer contest for new tile functions or services. Create online communities and actively manage conversations on really timely stuff, like gun control, and thereby elevate the identity and status of product users to something more than just the non-Apple crowd.

Invent the industry’s next pricing structure. Microsoft’s pricing strategy is cutting-edge circa 1950 or so, and it gets rather Byzantine when it comes to different versions for different users (a matrix has often been invoked, which is a kiss of death for any self-respecting communicator). Scrap the traditional pricing nonsense and figure out how Windows 8 buyers could be subscribers to the OS. This would redefine how they think of it (and the brand), and it would be in keeping with the live, interactive nature of the interface.

Once the company figured out the basic pricing structure, it could come up with a way to incentivize usage and ownership over time…so that when Windows 9 comes around, people will have all but already bought it/into it. This new product should be a chance to lock folks into a lifestyle that they won’t want to leave because it works so wonderfully and is priced so fairly.

There’s so much Microsoft could do to truly change the world, and $1 billion could finance a lot of much. 60 million units sold might be on track with past Windows launches, but the company should be shooting for a far more successful future. Their goal should be to inspire people to flock to stores looking for the OS.

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I couldn’t agree more. I’m a big fan of Windows 8 & Windows Phone. They’re different and innovative, and Microsoft should stress how they’re different and why they’re better. They made the same mistake with Windows Phone advertising until just recently when they started highlighting how “live tiles” make your phone very personal. Those early ads about Windows Phone will help you spend less time with your phone were terrible (people love using their smartphones).

For the first time in a long time, Microsoft is ahead of its competitors. It’s unified the desktop, laptop, tablet & smartphone… and now they need to tell people why it’s good for them and more fun.

Windows 8 is huge, but the average consumer doesn’t really know it yet. That needs to change or Microsoft will continue to lose market share to its competitors. They finally got it right with Windows Phone 8 (although those could still be better too) and we’re starting to see the result–the phones are starting to catch on. They need to show why Windows 8 is the new “must have” thing–because it is.

@NewYorkCityMale – After reading your response, I can’t help but wonder if you work for Microsoft or actually are a HUGE fan of Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8.

About Windows 8, I will agree that Microsoft has created a new paradigm for interfacing with a computer with its Modern/Metro/something look and feel. However that new interface really works well ONLY with touch screens. Every review of Windows 8 says the same thing, namely that a laptop with a touch screen works very well. The same things have been said since Windows 8 beta(s). For millions of us users that don’t have touch screens the new interface doesn’t work as well as the familiar desktop. This too has been a common theme in almost every review of Windows 8 I can find; all the way back through the beta versions.

However, if Microsoft really wanted to create a buzz they should’ve made Windows 8 smart enough to recognize whether or not it was running on a touch-enabled computer and use the new interface if so. Leave the familiar and productive desktop as the primary interface on non-touch-enabled systems. Forcing a mobile-focused touch-screen interface on non-touch-enabled desktops doesn’t make sense. Personally, I would have upgraded to Windows 8 in October if the desktop had remained the primary user interface for my non-touch-screen desktop. Or (and more importantly) I would be shopping for the replacement of my 3 ½ year old desktop.

Imagine how much more success Windows 8 would have if the reviews of the beta versions onward were like this: “Windows 8 is a great upgrade because it is faster and more stable than Windows 7. However, Windows 8 will be ready for the wave of touch-enabled computers that are 18 months away. Many of us are thinking the Windows 8 touch interface works well and is actually more useful than a mouse and keyboard on a touch-screen laptop. Microsoft took what works from WP7 and expanded upon it to create new ways to use your computer.”

@NewYorkCityMale – Concerning your enthusiasm about Windows Phone 8 (WP8) I again agree with your assessment that WP8 is different and (somewhat) innovative. Smartphones enable users to manipulate the DATA of their lives as well as watch YouTube videos. However, WP8 falls short in this usefulness category because WP8 (and Windows Phone 7) is utterly Internet dependent. I know that all computing is moving to “The Cloud” but that time is not yet. We all need to remember that the Internet is still working at becoming all things to all people all the time. Motorola’s MotoCast copied my Outlook contacts onto my Razr in 2 minutes, through a cable. WP8 entails a Rube Goldberg system involving several interfaces and requires the Internet. Then Windows Phone stops talking to the Outlook on a user’s computer UNLESS that user has access to an Exchange server.

In a user’s home WP8 loses functionality without its connection to Hotmail/Live Mail/Outlook.com or even Gmail because Microsoft broke the DATA connection between a user’s computer and their smartphone. My Razr Maxx is still fully functional without the Internet and maintains full DATA synchronization with Outlook 2007 on my desktop. I can sit at my computer to update my calendar or contacts and my Razr receives those changes without using the Internet. Microsoft would have all of us using Outlook.com to manage the DATA of our lives and as a means to move DATA onto a user’s WP8. I have 10+ years of DATA in Outlook on my computer. Why would I ever give that up to lose access to my life’s DATA if the Internet and/or Microsoft’s “Cloud” is unavailable? (Yes I do local backups, both with a second HD in my desktop and a NAS box also)

I continue to notice that basic functionality is ignored whenever Windows Phone acolytes show off the pretty tiles that are alive. I can copy a 100 MB PowerPoint file to my Razr through a cable from my desktop. Windows Phone requires that 100 MB file to upload onto the Internet, transit from the ISP through Microsoft’s servers and then onto the servers belonging to the user’s mobile provider. The mobile provider then transmits the 100 MB PowerPoint file onto the Windows Phone sitting 8 inches from that user’s desktop, again calling Rube Goldberg. Say that Windows Phone user makes a change to that PowerPoint on their smartphone and want to copy the updated PowerPoint file to their computer. They must use another 100 MB of data usage to update their computer. A Windows Phone user might incur big mobile data usage just to move DATA files back and forth the few inches distance between a computer and a Windows Phone. The Free Market is clear that I, along with millions of others, think a system that requires a user’s DATA to travel a 1000 miles to move a few inches is crazy.

2 years ago, a Windows Phone with the good things of Windows Mobile’s desktop DATA connectivity PLUS the cool interface and new Internet capabilities would have been a success. Imagine the increased revenue if WP8 directly communicated with Office 2010 Small Business, allowing a user’s DATA to move between a Windows Phone and Office without requiring the Internet. This would be a strong incentive for Home/Small Businesses without the wherewithal to run Exchange servers to upgrade their MS Office. Yes Exchange/Office 365 will provide that functionality but why would a Home/Small Business decide to purchase a Windows Phone that requires a large mobile DATA plan and have to also pay for functionality that requires an always on Internet connection? I purchased a great Android phone, in my Razr Maxx, that easily interfaces with my existing version of MS Office, so why wouldn’t millions of Home/Small Businesses make the same purchase decisions? “Different and innovative” interfaces still require a good value to succeed.

I can only add that a few days ago I de-subscribed to an Internet radio service because I kept getting hiccups in my office connection (and I pay extra for enhanced business-speed cable, the dummy that I am). So your suspicions about this “living in the cloud’ dream are multi-faceted, for sure.

@easierpc Not sure why you have issues doing simple tasks with Windows Phone. Mine works great straight out of the box. I can connect it to my pc and copy over any file I like through explorer. I need no internet connection for this. Although I still see your point for Outlook. If you are still using some antiquated pop3 mailbox and need to sync things to your phone manually, then yes there is a need to sync to Outlook. However most smartphone users have little need or desire to do this. Most of them use a service like gmail or outlook.com or any number of other providers that offer EAS technology to sync not just mail, but your contacts and calendars. You also speak as if the data on the phone disappears if the internet is not functioning. My device is synced with Exchange, Gmail, and Outlook.com using the EAS connectivity for all of them. The Outlook 2013 on my laptop has all the same info as the accounts on the phone and the web based versions. Everything is in sync without having to worry if I synced all the data I need from my pc. I can also use the dreaded cloud to keep all my files in sync. I use skydrive app on my laptop, phone and server. If the file I need is in the cloud I can get it from anywhere. Not only that, since I have skydrive on my server I can access my 2TB of music, 200GB of photos and all my documents no matter where I am.

It seems as if those who decry Windows 8 as an operating system for touch screens only have never used it. There are mouse commands for every touch command in the OS. My husband has a new Lenovo Yoga. I use touch with it. He, however, is a mouser and uses the mouse 99% of the time. It is an OS with a true choice – it boots up in a flash and lightning fast and very stable. It’s a pleasure with a mouse or with touch. The new hybrid devices that are coming out are delightful and flexible. I sound like a commercial, but it’s the truth.